Feedback wanted on the forum structure!

[Pickle Juice]

Yes I thought it was nice to be a little different from the norm.

 

[Lord Snot]

I think we are looking extremely similar to another board now. That's something I hoped we would stay away from

 

[Scorpius]

I think we are looking extremely similar to another board now. That's something I hoped we would stay away from

Agreed.

I don't like the Lounge being pushed all the way to the bottom of the forum. It makes me feel like what I post there is petty and unimportant, when in fact it is the more "social" chattier type threads that really build community on online forums like this.

 

[Second Summer]

I think Ansciess have many good points, but they do result in VV looking like that other board a lot.

I've gone ahead and renamed a lot of the categories(*) in line with what I said in my previous post. The actual forum names stay the same. I've also moved some forums around a bit. I did end up moving The Lounge. But nothing is set in stone here.

Let me know if you still think we look too much like that other board, and if so what you'd like to change.

* Category: a top-level node that doesn't contain any threads (currently: Community, Lifestyle, Animals, Health & Body, Globetrotting, etc.)

 

[Freesia]

I posted this in the Coffee thread but i will post it here.

I think having the lounge up the top as it was with the community info, then the veg/vegan boards, then animal activsm boards at the centre, then the recipes, then health boards, then everything else at the bottom- that is what structure I like, anyway.

 

[Freesia]

Also I think it is a good idea to have the debate board further up the page.

 

[Rosie1]

-You could move the "Social Club and General Discussion" up to the very top, under the "Community" section. Since it's just about the busiest section right now because people like to hang out here and talk. And it's also not near the bottom like TFTSNBN.

OR

-You could move it just below "Animals", or even just below "High Culture".

Not really sure, as there are quite a few places it could go. I definitely think it should be in a more prominent place.

ETA: Freesia already mentioned some of this stuff, while I was looking at the forum home and typing my ideas! I am too slow!

 

[Freesia]

Never mind. : ) it is good to hear people's opinions : ) .

 

[Ansciess]

Well, how did the VB community manage to form with the primarily social forums near the bottom, if that's a problem?

A community is only built if people feel compelled to join it in the first place, and I think the only initial draw for a board like this are the issues upon which it based - veg*nism, animals, and health. I know I wouldn't join or stay at a primarily social board, talking about what I did that day, etc. What's the problem with scrolling down a little if those are the things people want to discuss, once they're already established here? People aren't going to join for those things, but those things might help them want to stay. I thought a big goal was to get new members and have it be a successful advocacy and support board. The social part to me is just a benefit, but maybe I don't fully understand what the board is aiming for.

But my question is, what was wrong with the VB structure and why does it have to be very different? VB was an extremely successful board for it's mission - the most successful of its kind on the web. How do the goals of VB differ from those of VV, and how would that be reflected in the structure? Did people not feel that VB was a social enough of a board and things like the Veggie Patch should have been more prominent?

(I hope this message doesn't seem too strong. I'm not the best writer, I just want to understand people's ideas about this).

 

[Muggle]

I think it's very simple. This is VeggieViews, not Veggieboards Mark II. At the moment the fourm page is sort of looking like a clone of VB, and I didn't think this place was supposed to be a clone of VB.

But if it is, then whatever.

 

[mlp]

I would probably put the Globetrotting section at the end.

I would add something like a "Shopping Resources" section in the the Lifestyle section. It could contain information about online shopping resources for veg*ns (a lot of new veg*ns don't know where they can buy certain stuff), product reviews, etc.

 

[Ansciess]

I think it's very simple. This is VeggieViews, not Veggieboards Mark II. At the moment the fourm page is sort of looking like a clone of VB, and I didn't think this place was supposed to be a clone of VB.

But my question is still, what was wrong with the VB structure and why does it have to be very different? How do the goals of VB differ from those of VV, and how would that be reflected in the structure?

 

[Muggle]

But my question is still, what was wrong with the VB structure and why does it have to be very different? How do the goals of VB differ from those of VV, and how would that be reflected in the structure?

Jesus Christ.

This is not veggieboards. The VB structure works on Veggieboards. This isn't veggieboards. I don't understand the mentality that the only way this place will be successful is if it turns into a VB clone.

I would have thought that one of the goals of this place, in light of recent things that happened at VB, is the community side of it. But what do I know?!

 

[mlp]

I think it's very simple. This is VeggieViews, not Veggieboards Mark II. At the moment the fourm page is sort of looking like a clone of VB, and I didn't think this place was supposed to be a clone of VB.

But if it is, then whatever.

There will inevitably be some overlap in structure, unless we're going to try to structure things differently just for the sake of being different, rather than deciding what kind of structure makes the most sense.

I think that the Lifestyles section and the Animals section need to be prominent, and I like their new placement, because those are the things that new members will be searching for. Other than that, I don't particularly care. If people feel strongly about it, the Lounge stuff could still be in the first section, with the announcements.

 

[Freesia]

Well, how did the VB community manage to form with the primarily social forums near the bottom, if that's a problem?

It did manage. But it was one of the things I was least fond of about it's structure, and I would have to scroll like mad with my rudimentary smart phone to get to the veggie patch....

 

[Muggle]

There will inevitably be some overlap in structure, unless we're going to try to structure things differently just for the sake of being different, rather than deciding what kind of structure makes the most sense.

Oh I get overlap in structure. Most forums have a similar basic structure , I just don't understand why VB is being put up on some pedestal of being the ultimate goal when, in actual fact, it's completely flopped because the owners didn't give a **** about the community.

 

[Scorpius]

I think it's very simple. This is VeggieViews, not Veggieboards Mark II. At the moment the fourm page is sort of looking like a clone of VB, and I didn't think this place was supposed to be a clone of VB.

But if it is, then whatever.

 

[mlp]

Oh I get overlap in structure. Most forums have a similar basic structure , I just don't understand why VB is being put up on some pedestal of being the ultimate goal when, in actual fact, it's completely flopped because the owners didn't give a **** about the community.

Well, the actions of the owners is an issue that's different from the physical structure of the board, wouldn't you say? For example, a textbook can be organized logically and well, even though the author is a jerk.

 

[Spang]

The Lounge just sent me a text - wants to be moved back near the top.

 

[mlp]

So, put The Lounge back into the Community section.